1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to multifunctional crossbow, which is suitable for shooting a variety of missiles, including arrows and balls.
2. Description of Related Art
The invention relates to a cross bow used by people engaged in hunting and target practice in general. Typically, the cross bow is in the form of a bow mounted on a stock in the general form of a rifle. The string of the bow is drawn back to a cocked position and is locked in that position under the control of the trigger until an arrow is fired. The cross bow allows the use of a relatively higher tension for the string as compared to an ordinary bow because both hands are available for cocking or a mechanical device can be used, and once the string is cocked, it remains cocked until it is discharged. An ordinary bow is drawn with a single hand and can only be maintained in a cocked position by physically holding the string in the cocked position.
Prior art cross bows are designed to fire a single arrow and then require recocking and reloading. That is, the cross bows are “single barrel” or single shot bows. It would be highly advantageous to have a “double barrel” cross bow so that two shots could be fired separately as needed. This is particularly beneficial for game hunting where the first shot misses or slightly wounds the game and the rapid firing of a second round is essential for hitting the game or minimizing the pain the game must endure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,521 describes a crossbow for shooting projectiles. The crossbow includes a frame with flexible bow arms and a bowstring connecting the arms, a trigger assembly for retaining the bowstring in a cocked position and releasing to propel the projectile, and a hollow barrel with interior rifling into which projectiles are loaded and through which they are expelled. A firing bolt is connected to the bowstring and located in the barrel to transfer force from the bowstring to the projectile. The barrel includes an elongated slot therealong. The firing bolt is slidably supported on rails on the exterior of the barrel. The firing bolt includes a driving member which extends through the slot to contact the projectile.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,453,631 describes a crossbow that includes an elongated frame coupled to a riser at a first end thereof. The riser supports a pair of flexible limbs, and a bowstring extends between the limbs. A movable bowstring release is used both to retract the bowstring into a drawn position, and to release the bowstring under the operation of a trigger assembly. The bowstring release is initially positioned near the bowstring at rest, and a bowstring hook is engaged therewith. A bowstring retractor includes a retractor rope secured to the bowstring release for retracting the bowstring. An upper housing is secured to the second end of the elongated frame, and supports a rope spool used to wind the retractor rope. The bowstring release is retracted into the upper housing proximate a trigger assembly for selectively releasing the bowstring when a user pulls the trigger.
Most crossbow products in the market only allow the user to shoot one type of projectile, either arrows or steel balls. They cannot be switched to different shooting modes. And while some crossbows may be switched between shooting modes, typically the conversion is cumbersome.
Thus, there exists a continuing need for a multifunctional crossbow which can be easily converted between arrow shooting mode and ball shooting mode, and which can be aimed efficiently and accurately in both modes. The present invention substantially fulfills this need.